Grahamstown impresses with its beautiful Victorian residences, historical buildings and monuments. The Rhodes University belongs to the oldest and most renowned universities in South Africa.

Over the last years, Grahamstown has become the festival capital of South Africa. Not less than 15 festivals are being celebrated here each year. Particularly popular and important is the National Arts Festival in July, a gigantic cultural spectacle which attracts half a million theatre and music friends from all over the country.Top right: The St. Michael and St. George Cathedral .
Left: The Main Road in Grahamstown.

GrahamstownSouth Africa

Grahamstown lies some 60 kilometres away from the coast. The town was founded in 1812 by Colonel John Graham and served initially as a military base for the protection of the British settlers from the Xhosas, who had been - in the process of the expansion of the Cape colony - forcefully pushed back to the Fish River and later to the Kei River. Time and again the Xhosas raided and looted farms in the border area and many settlers gave their farms up and moved to the town. In the process Grahamstown became the second-largest town of the Cape Colony in the 19th century.